Contradictions
by spritesinger
Summary: All families have their secrets but a muggle-born Slytherin? Surely not...
1. Prologue

Prologue

The woman who sat in front of Paula and her parents looked like nobody they had ever seen before. Tall and commanding, she wore black robes that flowed down to the floor and when she had entered the sitting-room she had placed a pointy black hat onto the glass coffee table. Her face warned Paula that she wasn't the type of person to suffer fools lightly but she would also be just and fair.

"You can get all of your school things in Diagon Alley," Professor McGonagall concluded. "Here is a map that will show you where to go." Placing another piece of parchment on the small pile next to her hat she continued: "You will have to pay for all of your school things using wizarding money but you will be able to exchange muggle money at Gringotts. When you arrive at the Leaky Cauldron Tom will show you how to get to Diagon Alley - he usually ends up showing most of the muggle-borns the way." Professor McGonagall stood and Paula and her parents did the same. Together they walked out into the hall and Paula's father opened the door for her. As she crossed the threshold Professor McGonagall looked back and a small piece of parchment appeared in her hand which she passed over to Paula. "I almost forgot - you already have a relative at Hogwarts. You might want to think about writing to him before you meet on the train." Paula nodded mutely, still shocked at the turn her life had taken in the last half an hour. Professor McGonagall seemed to realise this because she gave her an almost smile and then walked down the garden path. The gate squeaked slightly and then she was gone.

The dazed family shut the front door slowly and traipsed back into the sitting-room where they all collapsed into arm chairs and stared at the pile of parchment on the table. For a full five minutes none of them could speak. When Paula's father finally did break the silence it was only to say "well". Then again with an emphases; "_well_". Paula's mother recovered enough to ask her daughter whom the relation was. Paula looked down at the parchment and smoothed out the wrinkles from where she had scrunched it in her hand. She read aloud the name and address; Theodore Nott, Nott Manor.

* * *

Paula and her mother walked nervously down the busy London street, looking for the Leaky Cauldron. It was two days before she was due to leave for Hogwarts and despite the fact the Mr Nott was working (he was an editor in a big publishing house) they felt that they couldn't leave buying Paula's school stuff any longer.

On the other side of the street, sandwiched between two large stores, they spotted the Leaky Cauldron, it's sign swinging gently in the breeze. Crossing the road they entered and found themselves in a place completely different to what they had imagined.

Witches and wizards of all ages surrounded them. The majority were wearing long robes like Professor McGonagall had but theirs weren't a plain black. Instead they were all the colours of the rainbow; blue, green, purple, red, indigo and in one case a vibrant orange. In a corner a large fireplace stood, belching green flames as it spewed even more witches and wizards onto the floor. In the opposite corner a group of small humanoid creatures sat, their long fingers gesticulating as they argued in a foreign language and above the bar a large sign read

"Firewhiskey - 5 sickles

Elf-made Wine - 6 sickles

Gillywater - 3 sickles"

Paula stood in the door and looked around for a full minute before she realised that she was blocking the door. She quickly stepped to the side just as a large group of elderly witches came through, all chattering excitedly. At a loss for what to do she stood in the corner whilst her mother looked around in wonder and tried to work out where she had to go. Professor McGonagall had said that she should go and find Tom to help them get into Diagon Alley but the pub was packed so tightly that she could barely see a foot in front of her. Her mother, being quite a lot taller than her had more luck.

" We should head over to the bar," she said, grasping hold of Paula's hand so that they weren't separated in the crush. "There's a group of people standing next to it who aren't wearing robes." Paula nodded, not sure that she would be heard over the din.

Eventually they managed to push their way through the crowds and reach the bar. As Mrs Nott had said, there was a group of people standing there, all looking as dazed as Paula felt. None of them were wearing robes either which made Paula feel a bit better - she had been feeling slightly out of place before-hand. All of the children looked about her age and so Paula assumed that they were the other first-year muggle borns.

Standing close to one of them, a curly-haired girl she asked: "are you waiting to be shown how you how to get into Diagon Alley?" The curly-haired girl nodded and tried to reply but it was lost in a roar of sound as the fireplace spewed a group of elderly wizards with long, white beards and tall, pointy hats out of the grate. They headed for a small door that clearly lead out to a back yard and disappeared through it, the door swinging shut behind them. The curly-haired girl tried again.

"Yes," she shouted. "Apparently so many of us come through that he shows us in groups. As soon as he's finished this group of customers he'll show us through. I'm Josie," she added. "Josie Wilson. Who are you?"

"Paula," Paula replied. "Paula N-" At that moment the small wizened looking man who had been serving a customer came out from behind the bar. Beckoning to the group he headed for the small back-door through which the elderly wizards had disappeared through earlier. Turning round Paula saw her mother talking to a woman on the other side of the group. Pushing her way towards her, Paula managed to grab hold of her mother's wrist and give it a small tug. Mrs Nott saw what was happening and followed her daughter out, through the back door and into what was, as Paula had guessed, a small back yard. Out of the corner of her eye Paula saw that Josie slipped through the doorway too and that she was standing a little to the right of them, behind a large boy and his parents.

Standing on tiptoes she managed to see the man from behind the bar pull a stick of wood out of a trouser pocket. Shuffling sideways slightly he showed them a blank piece of a wall, made from bricks.

"To get to Diagon Alley, simply tap this brick here; from the bottom of the bins six across and 12 up."

"Sounds a bit like a crossword," Mrs Nott muttered and Paula stifled a giggle. Tom tapped the brick with the stick of wood which Paula realised had to be a wand and slowly the wall began to rearrange itself, the bricks folding back on themselves to create a gateway into the most magical street Paula had ever seen: Diagon Ally.

* * *

Later that night Paula sat on her bed, trying to attach a letter to the leg of the barn owl she and her mother had bought that day. She had taken Professor McGonagall's advice and written to Theodore Nott. The barn owl hooted impatiently, it's leg was held out helpfully so that Paula could tie the letter on but it clearly was fed up with having to stand on one leg. After making sure that the knot was tied as securely as she knew how Paula let go and carried the owl (she had decided to call her Morgana) across to the window and slid it open. Morgana sat for a moment on Paula's outstretched arm and then flapped off.

Closing the window Paula sunk down on her bed and picked up her wand - cherry and unicorn tail hair - hardly able to believe how her life had changed. Before the holidays she had thought she was going to go to the local secondary school but now..._Hogwarts_. Paula sighed happily and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Smoke billowed and belched around Paula as she stood with her parents and luggage on platform nine-and-three-quarters. A helpful porter had shown them how to get through and now Paula was watching as the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station. They hadn't wanted to risk being late and so had ended up arriving half-an-hour early but that didn't particularly matter. It was far better in Paula's opinion to be early than late.

The train pulled to a stop and a sea of students flooded onto the train, tugging on end of giant suitcases whilst their parents pushed on the other end. Hoots and screeches from hundreds of owls filled the air as their cages were bundled onto the train and into compartments along with the suitcases.

Paula seized one of her suitcases and tried to haul it onto the train. It was so heavy that she almost dropped it several times and her father quickly relieved her of it and strode onto the train with it. Finding an empty compartment he lifted it onto the luggage rack whilst Paula and Mrs Nott followed behind, carrying Morgana and a small bag containing the things that she wanted for the journey.

Morgana's head was tucked under her wing and she didn't complain when Paula put her down and covered her cage over with a coat pulled from the bag.

The Nott family stood in the small compartment and looked at each other, and Paula realised that she wouldn't see them again until she came home for the Christmas Holidays. She felt a little bit like crying but at that moment the compartment door slid open and the curly-haired girl from the Leaky Cauldron poked her head around the door.

"Hi!" She said brightly as she tugged ineffectually at the handle of her suitcase which was almost as large as she was. "Is it alright if I come and sit with you? Almost all of the compartments are full and I can't find _anywhere_ to sit."

"Sure," Paula said with a wobbly smile and Mr Nott crossed over to help her with the suitcase.

"Thanks," Josie said. "I almost was too late. I had to catch the train in 'coz Mum had to stay with my little sister Amy. She caught Chicken Pox a week ago and it's been crazy these last few days." She plonked a cage down on the seat next to Morgana and dumped a small carryall on the floor. A whistle cut through the air and Paula realised that the train would be leaving in a few moments. Her parents did too as they both gave her a tight hug and promised that they would write as soon as they could. Then they turned and left the compartment, too stand on the platform just outside the girl's compartment.

The train whistled again and doors slammed up and down the length of the train. Her parents started to wave, as did everybody else on the platform. With a jerk that caused Paula and Josie to fall down on the seat the train started to move, picking up pace quickly. Paula waved until her parents disappeared from sight and then stopped, realising that she was finally off to Hogwarts.

"So," said Josie after they had finished waving (they had both waved goodbye for good measure). "What do you want to do now? I've got some Exploding Snap, if you want," she rummaged in her bag. "Or there's Wizard Chess only that's not so good for a train journey, or we _could_ play-"

"Um," interrupted Paula, feeling slightly rude, "I'm supposed to meet my cousin in a few minutes but – maybe later?"

"Oh sure," said Josie, sitting back in her seat and pulling out a magazine. "Just don't miss the trolley or you won't get any lunch. Mind you," she added when she saw that Paula looked confused, "that won't be for-" she looked at her watch "an hour and a half yet. You go on and meet your cousin – I'll still be here when you get back." With that Josie settled down to read her magazine and Paula, feeling slightly bemused by her new friend's confidence, left the compartment to go and find Theodore Nott.

As she wandered down the corridor she saw several students wearing the long robes that seemed to be the characteristic clothing of all the witches and wizards that she had so far seen. Realising that she hadn't got a clue where to start looking she pulled out the reply to her letter that had arrived the day before. He had written that if she couldn't find him she should ask any of the students that were wearing robes with a green badge on them where she could find Theodore Nott and they would be able to point her in the right direction.

Having no better alternative she walked up to a compartment in which several boys with green badges on their robes were sitting and slid open the door. The boy's conversation broke off and they all turned to stare at her.

"Excuse me." Her voice came out a tiny squeak – she _hated _being the centre of attention - so she tried again. "Excuse me. I was wondering if any of you could tell me where Theodore Nott is. He's my cousin and I'm looking for him." In one corner a dark haired boy and his friend, who had blond haired so light it was almost white, sniggered.

In one corner a boy who had been sitting slightly apart from the others unfolded himself from where he had been lounging and sat up properly. Not handsome, he was taller than the others but also weedier and he had hair that was an unremarkable shade of brown. Something about him told Pula that he was older than the two boys who had sniggered.

"Are you Paula?" He asked her and when she nodded he carried on, "Come on, we'll go somewhere else to talk." He stood up and she realised that he was even taller than she had first realised. "I'll be back in minute," he told the others, then shunted Paula out of the compartment and into the corridor. Closing the door, he set off down the train, obviously looking for an empty compartment. Paula wondered whether or not she dared to tell him that there were any but decided not to. Despite his not particularly threatening presence she felt awkward and into sure what to do. She assumed that he was Theodore Nott but he hadn't actually _said_ anything. He could be, in fact, a complete stranger. Paula crossed her fingers and hoped that he was Theodore Nott

Halfway down the train the boy stopped and Paula almost walked into him. Sliding open the door he entered and Paula, after hesitating a moment, followed. Inside the compartment was empty apart from a large suitcase and an owl cage which the boy sat down next to. Paula stood in the doorway, not quite sure what to do, should she sit down or not?

"You might as well sit down," he said so Paula did, closing the door behind her. The boy looked at her for a minute before speaking. "When I got your letter I was surprised that you would be going to Hogwarts - I thought you would be non-magical like your parents and grandfather. Does he know that you are going to Hogwarts?"

"Granddad? No. He died a couple of years ago," she told him.

"Oh." The compartment was silent for a moment before he asked: "did you know that you were part of magical family before you came?" She shook her head. "So you don't know that your grandfather was the brother of _my_ grandfather?" Again Paula shook her head.

"Oh." Again silence.

"I didn't even know that magic existed until about a month ago." Paula confessed as the boy was obviously waiting for her to say something. "Professor McGonagall told me. She gave me your address at the same time and recommended that I wrote to you." Glad of something to do she rummaged about in her coat pocket she found the piece of parchment and pulled it out, handing it to him. He took it and glanced at it briefly before looking back to her.

"So you don't know anything," he concluded, "about the Nott family or how come _you _are magical when neither your parents nor your grandparents were. I see." Paula was starting to feel patronised and interrogated and she didn't like it.

"No," she said, before she could bite her tongue. "Why don't you tell me instead?"

"From the beginning then," he said. "In the magical world there are wizards who are born into a wizarding family and who inherit the 'magical gene', or whatever you want to call it. Then there are those who have the 'magic gene' who aren't part of a wizarding family. These people are usually called muggle-borns. Finally there are those people who are born into a wizarding family whom the 'magic gene' has passed by. These people are called squibs. Usually whenever a squib was born they were sent into the muggle world to learn how to become muggles as it was deemed kinder than letting them stay in a world which they didn't really belong to. Usually the children of a squib are also non-magical but occasionally there are a few who turn out to have the 'magical gene' which passed the others by. For all intents and purposes they are muggle-born because neither of their parents were magical. Normally this wouldn't be a problem as muggle-borns are now pretty much accepted. Your grandfather was a squib and, like all of the other squibs of that time, he was sent out into the muggle world where he married and had children." He looked at her to see how well she was keeping up and Paula nodded to show that she understood.

"Unfortunately, about twenty years ago there was a wizard who," he paused, trying to work out what he wanted to say. "I guess you could say that he went bad. He was of the opinion that all muggle-borns were bad and he gained a lot of followers before he disappeared. Do you remember the boys in the compartment? All of their fathers and most of their mothers were part of it. The Malfoys, Flints, Crabbe, Goyle," he looked at her before saying the last name, "and Nott were just a few. He disappeared a few years ago now and _most_ of his followers went to prison, though not all.

This is where we hit a problem. If you were any muggle-born you would be fine – you might have a problem when the Dark Lord comes back but you could, if clever enough, survive because you would have anonymity. Because you're related to an old pure-blood family who was part of his Death Eaters, however, you won't get that. You would probably be dead within a year of his return. So," he concluded, "we have to therefore present you as a distant, pure-blooded, cousin in the hope that nobody will realise that you are, effectively, a muggle-born." Theodore looked at her expectantly, clearly expecting an answer.

"Um," Paula could spot several holes in the story but was reluctant to voice them after her earlier outburst. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of this boy who was clearly trying to help but had just told her that his father was part of some kind of muggle-hating organisation. "It sounds like a good idea but_ -"_

"There are a couple of holes in the story, right?"

"Not so much holes as gaping _wounds_," she replied, deciding to tell him anyway. "Firstly: I don't know anything about magic. Secondly: I won't know anybody when I arrive. Won't that be a bit suspicious? I mean, your family must know lots of people whom I haven't even _heard_ of. Thirdly: won't all your friends know that you don't have a cousin?"

"Distant cousin," he corrected. "No, I wouldn't have thought so. Plus, we can say you've been living abroad for the last few years and have only decided to come to England because your parents want you to go to Hogwarts. That also explains why you won't know anybody. As for not knowing anything about magic, well," he shrugged, "I can't help you with that, you'll just have to play it by ear and see how it goes although I'll try and help."

Paula considered for a moment. The plan still seemed to be as full of holes as a sieve but then… Are you sure that the, what did you call him again? The Dark Lord? Are you sure he's going to come back?

"Oh he'll come back." Theodore told her with certainty. "I don't know when, or how, but he will come back."

After that there didn't seem to be much more to say; either she agreed, or she didn't and faced the problems when they came further down the road. The only question left to ask was:

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Why would you try and help a distant cousin when you're family apparently hates muggles?"

"Oh. Well, you're family. You're different." Paula supposed that she should feel flattered and considered what he had said. "Plus," he added, seeing that she wasn't quite convinced, "there's the matter of family pride. Can you imagine: a squib in an old pure-blood family!" She wasn't quite sure whether or not he was joking but the tiny half smile he wore suggested that he was. Whether he was or wasn't, she had made up her mind.

"All right," she agreed.

Theodore's half smile grew slightly. "Good," he said before starting to tell her about the Nott family and how she could be a convincing pure-blood.

* * *

Josie and Paula stood next to each other, at the back of the group of first years waiting to be sorted into their houses. Professor McGonagall had left them a few minutes ago and everywhere the two girls looked they saw new first years looking ill. Paula didn't feel too well either. Noticing that her new friend had started to look slightly green Josie linked her arm through Paula's and gave it a squeeze.

"You'll be fine," she told her. "I'm sure your family won't _actually_ disown you if you don't get put into Slytherin. I mean, seriously, it can't be that big a deal. Your parents didn't go to Hogwarts so..."

Paula grimaced. She had told Josie that her family wanted her to be a Slytherin and carry on a family tradition (Theodore had told her that this out of all of the four houses was the one that most pure-blood families into) but was now starting to regret it. Josie had seemed surprised that she came from a family of Slytherins but had immediately started telling her not to worry and that people rarely got disowned for not being in the right house nowadays.

Often shy she had trouble making friends easily and was grateful that Josie had seemed to have taken her under her wing as otherwise she would have felt even more terrified than she did now.

During the rest of the journey she had told Paula all about the four houses (and their reputations). From what she had said Paula was not convinced that she even wanted to be put into Slytherin but sometimes it felt that life left no choices available.

"How do they decide who's going to go in which house?" Paula asked, suddenly realising that she didn't know.

"Well," Josie leaned forwards as if she was going to divulge a secret, "Dad says that you have to make a rabbit come out of a hat." Paula pulled back in horror; she hadn't a clue how she would even go about _starting_ such a thing. "But he's a muggle, though, and hasn't been to Hogwarts. Plus, " she added, "he's a muggle magician and that's his main party trick. It's kind of funny, really. Dad makes his living by performing magic tricks at parties and he doesn't know any real magic, whilst Mum works at the ministry and shuffles paper all day and is a witch. Still, you can't have anything in life. Anyway, Mum told me that I only had to put a hat on and that it chose which house we get put in so we'll be fine." Paula just wished that she had half of her new friends confidence.

A small door opened and Professor McGonagall came back and started to shoo the first years into a line before leading them out of the small room and into the Great Hall, where the rest of the school waited. The sight of several hundred students and teachers staring at the group made Paula's queasy feeling, which she had barely managed to convince to leave her alone, return. Josie was standing next to her and seemed completely unaffected, looking around the Hall curiously.

Paula swallowed hard and looked to the front of the Hall where a dirty hat was perched on a three-legged wooden stool which looked as though it would send whoever sat on it tumbling to the floor. She tried to forget the image but the harder she tried the more it remained in her mind's eye. Now she could almost hear the sound of everybody laughing as she scrambled to pick herself up. Shaking her head she tried to concentrate and realised that the hat was singing.

…_So Gryffindor picked the noble,_

_the daring and the fearless._

_Hufflepuff took those who sought to learn,_

_the caring and the selfless._

_Whilst Ravenclaw took the clever, then,_

_taught them to be the smartest._

_And Slytherin, the last of the four,_

_took those whose blood was purest..._

The song continued on for a little while longer but Paula wasn't concentrating. The fact that only "those whose blood was purest" seemed to become Slytherins made her realise how incredibly unlikely that she would ever get in. A round of applause told her the hat had finished and Professor McGonagall started to read names of a piece of parchment.

"Adams, Jason." A smallish boy trotted up to the stool and sat down on it, putting the hat down on his head. From what Paula could see he looked slightly green and was thankful tht she wasn't the only one who was scared. There was a moment of silence and then the hat shouted out:

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Buxton, Dawn" A girl with blond hair tied up into two bunches by bright red ribbons ran up and put the hat on her head. Another pause, then:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The names continued.

"Golding, Joan" became the first Hufflepuff as did "Holleron, Claire" but " Greeveson, Daniel" became the first Slytherin.

Eventually, after "Mason, Bethany" became a Ravenclaw, Paula heard: "Nott, Paula". Trying not to be sick she walked up to the stool and put the hat on her head. Feeling the eyed of the entire school upon her she tried to banish the thought of the stool collapsing underneath her and instead tried to think about which house she would be in.

"Hmm, kind, terribly shy, not stunningly clever but intelligent," said a small voice in her ear, "you would probably make a good Hufflepuff. But you are desperate to be in Slytherin. Now why – oh, I see." The hat seemed to be reading her mind, Paula thought. "Of course - that's what I _do_," if a hat could chuckle then this one certainly was. "Well, a Slytherin muggle-born. I suppose it is possible but ...irregular. Still, if that is what you really want -" Paula tried to nod mentally "- then SLYTHERIN."

Feeling a bit shaky Paula slipped of the stool (which hadn't, she realised thankfully, collapsed under her) and took the hat off. Setting it down she made her way towards the table which was cheering and saw that there was a seat next to Theodore which she sat down on. He gave her a tiny smile which she half returned. They both knew that no-one would ever believe she was a muggle-born now for what could be more ridiculous than a muggle-born Slytherin?


	2. Chapter 1

The Great Hall echoed with the voices of students talking about their summers as they tried to find seats for the start of term feast. Paula and Josie threaded their way through the crowds of people gathered around each of the four tables and tried to find their own places to sit.

The two girls had changed over the last six years since they had first met on the Hogwarts Express. Josie was still taller than Paula, by quite a long way, and appeared to have grown an inch or three over the holidays. Her hair had slowly lightened from a light brown to a dark blonde and it was plaited into a single long plait, the end of which was slightly singed from the game of Exploding Snap that the girls had played, as had become a tradition, on the journey.

Paula, on the other hand, was almost no taller than she had been when they had first met. Her hair was cut into a short bob which framed her face and she looked young for her age. The cuff of one of her sleeves was also singed, but she didn't seem to care as she fussed with the edge.

The two girls were in different houses (Josie had been sorted into Hufflepuff) but the tables were placed next to each other in the Great Hall so even if they couldn't sit next to each other they could still sit close enough to have a sort of conversation.

Finding two seats close enough, they sat down and were about to carry on their conversation when the hall fell silent. Almost everybody was sitting down but those who weren't sat down on the closest seat possible, regardless of whether they were close to their friends or not, as the doors were flung open and the new Minister for Magic, Pius Thicknesse, strode down the gap between the centre two tables, Professor Snape by his side.

Now that everyone was seated, Paula could see the number of empty seats, both amongst the students and on the teachers table and it reminded her of how different this year would be. Now, more than ever, was she grateful that she had taken Theodore's advice and portrayed herself as a pure-blood for the last six years. The absence of all the muggle-born students showed clearly what had happened to those not deemed 'acceptable' any longer.

The Minister for Magic and Professor Snape had now reached the end of the hall and stood facing the students, all of whom were deadly quiet, waiting for the hat on the rickety stool to start singing, but it didn't. Instead Professor Snape called out the names of the students who put on the Sorting Hat and waited for a moment to find out where they would be going. When the Hat finally reached a decision it called out a house name in the most subdued voice Paula had ever heard. Clearly someone had told it - something. Probably that promoting inter-house friendships was no longer acceptable.

After the sorting Thicknesse took a step forward and Paula stopped picking it her singed cuff to concentrate on what he was about to say.

"So, another year at Hogwarts," He looked around at the students. "This year, however, there are several changes in the teaching staff and there will also be changes in the way things are run at Hogwarts. The first change is, of course, the change in the Head teacher. I am pleased to tell you that from now on your new Headmaster is Severus Snape." Cheers rang out from the Slytherin table whilst the other tables dutifully, if not enthusiastically, clapped. After waiting a moment of the noise to die away (which it quickly did) he continued. "I am also pleased to tell you that Professor Alecto Carrow will be taking the vacant post of Muggle-Studies whilst Professor Amycus Carrow will teach Dark Arts." _Nobody_ in the Great Hall missed the exclusion of 'Defence Against' that normally preceded 'Dark Arts'.

And that, felt Paula as she returned to picking at her cuff, summed up the new Hogwarts. A quick glance at Josie showed that she felt exactly the same. Phrases such as "attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is now _compulsory_ for all students under the age of seventeen" and "from now on no so called 'muggle-borns' will attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" showed just how different the next school year would be.

Tuning out the Minister for Magic Paula concentrated on her cuff, which was now looked unusually ragged for a new set of school robes, and wished that Theo was there. He had finished his seventh year the previous term and Paula hadn't quite realised how much she would miss having him around. Since they had first met they had become good friends and he had sort of adopted her as a younger sister as she struggled to find her way around the castle and know what to say when she was asked a question about some obscure wizarding family she was expected to know.

He was now working at Gringotts and he already written to Paula several times over the holidays, telling her all about his work there. She almost wished that she could leave school and join him - it appeared as though this year of Hogwarts was going to be the most difficult yet to keep up her pureblood pretence.

Another round of applause told her that Thicknesse had finished and she looked up, hoping that the feast was about to begin, but it was Professor Snape's turn to speak. Again tuning out she caught more phrases but didn't bother to listen carefully until she heard:

"This year's new Head-Boy and -Girl are Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson." No surprises _there_, she though as she clapped along with everybody else in the Great Hall.

"And now let the feast begin!"

_Finally_, thought Paula as she dug a spoon into a pot of stew that had appeared in front of her. She was _starving_ and the pre-feast speeches had last forever.

The buzz of talk that had echoed around the hall before Professor Snape and the Minister had started talking slowly came back but it was more subdued than before – nobody wanted to draw attention to themselves too early on in the year. They preferred to wait and find out what was going to happen first. The noisiest table by far was the Slytherin table – nobody there had any worries about what was going to be happening to _them_.

Typically, Paula sat with her cousin during meal times but since he had left the previous year she was on her own now. This meant that she didn't have to concentrate on making polite conversation whilst she ate, for which she was eternally grateful. Whilst no longer being quite as shy as she had been when she started Hogwarts, Paula still wasn't completely comfortable talking to whoever just happened to be sitting near.

Luckily, the people sitting next to her didn't seem to mind as they dug into their plates of food and chattered about their summer holidays.

"Italy really was beautiful this year," one boy was saying around a mouthful of something. "We stayed at the Manor as usual and Mother held a party almost every evening! She seems to have set her sights on yet _another_ husband and he was hanging around the place all the time, not that I saw him much - I try to avoid Mother's 'friends' whenever possible!"

"Will this one have an unfortunate accident after the wedding as well? Any ideas? You never know what can happen around that part of the Italian coastline - there are so many steep cliffs!" One of his friends joked.

The boy didn't seem to be at all offended - he just shrugged his shoulders and laughed whilst the rest of the group took turns comparing their own exotic holidays.

_And I went to Cornwall,_ Paula thought, _where I spent a week camping with my Mum and Dad before going to visit some friends in Kent._ Somehow Cornwall and Kent couldn't quite compare to Italy and the other exotic destinations being talked about. _But,_ she reminded herself, _at least I didn't have to spend my time trying to avoid anybody . Maybe their lives aren't quite as blessed as they all like to think._

Slowly the dishes in front of the Slytherins started to empty and were then replaced with mountains of desert. Paula helped herself, wishing she hadn't eaten quite so much of the first course. Putting a slice of apple pie on her plate she poured some custard and dug her spoon in. Slowly, she savoured all of the flavours before loading her spoon again - she adored this pudding. It wasn't quite as nice as her mother's, but then beggars couldn't be choosers and it _was_ very good.

"Could you pass the cream please?" It was the boy who had been talking about his Italian holiday earlier. Opening eyes she had shut, she found the jug and passed it to him before taking another spoonful of her pie.

"Thanks," he told her. "So, did you have a nice holiday?"

Paula nodded whilst chewing.

"Where did you go?" She realised that she was going to have to answer him and swallowed regretfully.

"Cornwall with my parents, then Kent to visit friends."

"Oh. And, er, what did you do in Cornwall?"

"Camped, walked, cycled."

"_Camped_?"

Had he never heard of camping before?

"Uh huh."

"Who're you talking to, Blaise?" One of his friends leaned forwards to get a better look. Paula wished they would just leave her alone. "Oh - it's Theodore's cousin, um, Phoebe? No, Pat? Umm..."

"Paula," supplied Zabini.

"That's it - knew it began with a 'P'."

One of his other friends called out: "say, Blaise, do you remember-" and Paula was able to return to her pudding in peace.

Sometime later when all of the dishes had been scraped clean and everybody had stopped eating the feast ended and the students started to sleepily make their way towards their common rooms. Paula had agreed to meet Josie in the Entrance Hall before saying goodnight so she waited until her friend emerged, talking to her sister Amy.

"I'll catch you up later," she called when she saw her friend waiting and Amy nodded before catching up with her other fourth-year friends.

"Gosh, I thought the feast would never start!" She said by way of greeting. "How long did those notices go on for?"

"For ever and ever and ever until we all died of starvation," Paula told her, rolling her eyes. Josie always claimed that the only reason she bothered to come to Hogwarts at all was for the food and Paula understood _exactly _where she was coming from. Mrs Wilson was the kindest person she had ever met aside from her own parents but she could burn a salad and that made for some interesting meals.

"Did you try the apple pie?" She demanded. Josie loved the dessert almost as much as she did.

"Heaven," they both agreed together.

This reminded her of the group she had been sitting near and she told Josie all about the conversation. Josie fully agreed that perhaps camping in Cornwall wasn't quite the same as staying in a big house in Italy, but, she claimed, "Camping is _soooo_ much more fun - especially when it rains!" This made them dissolve into giggles at the reminder of the time Josie had come with them on the Nott's annual holiday and it had rained non-stop.

Their giggles were interrupted by the boy who had been sitting next to Paula at the Slytherin table - Zabini - when he coughed slightly behind them. Cut off mid-giggle the pair turned to look at him in stunned amusement. He was clearly uncomfortable with interrupting two giggling girls and Paula didn't dare look at Josie in case she started laughing again.

"Um, could I speak to Paula a moment, please?" Now even more stunned she just nodded and waited with Josie t see what he would say. "Uh, in private?"

Josie took the hint and moved off to stand watching them by some stairs.

Paula waited for a full minute for him to speak. He seemed to be growing even more uncomfortable with each passing second, as if he was trying to work out how to phrase something. Eventually he gave up and started.

"Did you listen to what Professor Snape was saying before the feast?" Whatever she had been expecting him to say it wasn't _that_ and Paula almost stepped back in surprise.

"Not overly," she confessed, wondering where he was heading with this conversation starter.

"So you didn't hear him telling everybody that inter-house friendships are no longer considered a good idea?"

"_No_. When did he say _that_?"

Zabini shuffled his feet. "Well, he didn't say it in as many words but the meaning was there. If you were a Gryffindor a Hufflepuff or even a Ravenclaw you might get away with it but not if you're a Slytherin."

Paula felt cold inside. "So, what you're saying is that I shouldn't be friends with anybody who isn't a member of our house?" She clarified. How _dare_ he just walk up to here and tell her who to be friends with!

"Petty much. Look, I know you think I'm just interfering but I'm not. Things at Hogwarts are going to be different this year - _very _ different and you're going to have to be careful. Some Slytherins have being saying for years how you being friends with a Hufflepuff shouldn't be allowed - Theodore made them leave you alone then but he isn't here now and they feel that now you're older you should know better."

"Who?"

"What? Thinks you should know better? Pansy for one, and Draco - most of them in fact. Listen, I'm not trying to interfere - just warn you that perhaps now isn't the best time to be seen as anything other than the perfect Slytherin pureblood. Maybe you, could, er, I don't know, maybe not spend quite so much time with your friend, that's all. Okay?"

"So you're suggesting that maybe I should abandon my friend to her fate and concentrate on looking after number one?" Blaise looked relieved that she wasn't going to shout at him, at least until she turned and started walking over to her friend.

"Hey - where are you going?"

"I," replied Paula, "am going back to my _friend_. And I am going to carry on being her _friend_ despite what you and Pansy and Draco and all of the 'others' say. You can leave now," she added but he didn't. He followed behind her and waited whilst she carried on talking and laughing with Josie who was as incredulous as she was.

"Does he honestly think that _real_ friends would do that to each other?" She wanted to know and Paula had no idea at all.

Eventually it became clear that Zabini wasn't going to leave unless she left to. Having made him wait until the hall had long ago cleared of students just to show him that she wasn't going to be pushed around, she eventually had to give into the reality that he wasn't going _anywhere_ unless she was and, after agreeing to meet Josie at breakfast, she set off towards the dungeons.

He soon caught up with her and they walked down the dark passage towards their common room.

"I'm only trying to help," he told her. "You haven't seen what Pansy and the others can do to those they feel don't fit the Slytherin pureblood image. Theodore asked me to keep an eye on you, make sure you're alright, and I've only done what-"

"Theo can mind his own business," she muttered, irritated by the arrogant toe-rag next to her.

Zabini either didn't hear or ignored her and carried on. "- he would have done if he'd been here."

Refusing to be goaded she stomped up to the section of bare wall that hid the common room before realising she didn't know the password. Wordlessly she stepped back to allow Zabini to stand in front of the wall. He seemed confused, then worked out where they were.

"Oh, uh. Blood-status."

A section of the wall swung back to allow them through. Zabini stood back to allow her to go first and she stepped through.

Still ignoring him she stalked over to the doorway that led to the girl's dormitories and climbed up a few steps until she reached her door. Entering she saw, as usual, her trunk on the floor next to her bed and Morgana's cage standing on top of it.

Flopping down onto her bed she groaned. Clearly Hogwarts was not going to be the lovely sanctuary of peace - at least relative peace - and learning that it used to be. Getting up, she fished out on old pair of pyjamas. She put them on, them went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Coming back she slipped into her bed and pulled the covers up over her head. Whatever else happened tonight could wait until the morning.


End file.
